OPJ

I was saying that ask mentioned that gnat mentioned that you have to, in the Open Source world, learn to do things yourself when your cohorts are volunteers. Agreed. Sometimes you find those golden people who help you out a lot, but they will not last, and you shouldn't expect them to. Most of the time, though, people will just talk about what they want to do. And beyond that, some people will help out some. And of those, some of them will give good help. And of these people, some of them will give good help, often. Out of all the people, a few of them will give good help. And then when they slack off, what are you supposed to do? They don't have to help at all. And even if they did have some obligation, if you come down hard on them, you risk losing them. And they are hard to find in the first place, and harder to replace.

Bah.

(Note: If I work with you on an Open Source project, don't think I am talking about you, even if I am. Which I'm not. Probably.)

So then there is sheriff_p's journal where he mentions that I think kids are clueless and parents are clueful. Not so. I do think kids are clueless, though. All of them. I think adults are, too, but to a much less degree. And since sheriff_p treated us to Jabberwocky, I will present a bit that I wrote (though I am hardly of Lewis Carroll's caliber).

You're no different from the rest of us
You got your great big plans
And baby just like the rest of us
You really just don't understand
No no no no no no no no

You're clueless, you're clueless, you don't know anything
You're clueless, you're clueless, you can't fly, you ain't got wings
You're clueless, you're clueless, I'll say it 'till my face turns blue
You're clueless, you're clueless, get help before it all falls through

Don't look to me for the answers
'Coz baby I am clueless too
I'm just as vacuous as the next guy
But I'm not as bad as you
I'm just kidding, baby, please, oh no, but
You're clueless, you're clueless, you don't know anything
You're clueless, you're clueless, you can't fly, you ain't got wings
You're clueless, you're clueless, I'll say it 'till my face turns blue
You're clueless, you're clueless, get help before it all falls through

Are you different from the rest of us?
Do you always get straight A's?
Do you always signal your lane change?
Did you find a cure for aids?
I don't think so, just admit it, baby

You're clueless, you're clueless, you don't know anything
You're clueless, you're clueless, you can't fly, you ain't got wings
You're clueless, you're clueless, I'll say it 'till my face-a turn-a blue-a
You're clueless, you're clueless, get help before it all falls through

Anyway. So am I saying all kids are clueless? Yes. So are all adults clueless? Yes. What about ... are all adults less clueless than all kids? No. The difference is that kids don't know how clueless they are. They can't begin to fathom it. They think they are pretty close to understanding things. They are wrong. They think there is only a little bit of difference between them and adults. They are wrong. They think adults know far less than adults actually know. They think kids know a lot more than kids actually know. Kids R Dum. But they grow out of it. Usually.

BTW, I can play that song at the conference, I'll have my guitar. But darnit, I am not sure if I can make the Jam BOF, since Gnat scheduled the Jam BOF opposite my Slash BOF. Bah, I say!

finger pudge@pudge.dyndns.org for my TPC schedule.